One Month In: A Progress Report

Kids, we’ve been living in Chicago for a solid 31-day calendar month now. I know… we’re impressed, too.

Let me begin by saying this to all the concerned mothers and mother figures reading: We are alive. We’re eating regularly. Our dishes and clothes are washed. And no one has gone to jail or the hospital. We are surviving quite nicely.

Actually, we’re more than surviving I’d say. We’re thriving in our new city. Our little corner of the world is quaint and quiet. We have a kid’s park next door and our entire building is pet friendly. Our landlords are Russian so that’s been a wonderful learning experience to say the least.

Our day-to-day days are a nice mix of home building and house cleaning— Emphasis on the cleaning. We’re getting our couch, coffee tables, and dresser in a few days, but we’re making the most of what we do have. 

We spent the first week and half at various retail stores buying all sorts of kitchenware and furniture essentials. For anyone keeping track, oven mittens made it to the essential list.

Javi has given me clearance to turn our living room into the movie room I’ve always wanted—which basically means I’m going to make it dark and cozy and hang movie posters all over the walls. I’ve got most of the posters framed already (Cher and Bette are in 2 of them!) but I’m waiting on the couches to arrive before I hang them up. This room is still a work in progress but here’s a small preview -->

In Vinylmation-related news: Unable to bring my entire collection with me up here, I brought some of my choice favorites and bought this gorgeous case from Michaels to keep them in. It’s got a glass door to keep them from getting dusty. However, because it’s heavy I’m undecided one whether to hang it on the wall or rest it on a shelf.
Since I get the movie room, Javi gets the office. A doctor-in-training needs a workspace after all. We bought this nice desk from IKEA and put up some of my old Hollywood 8x10s to give it a classy feel. Of course, he’s already looking into changing Liz & the gang out for some art. I’m about it since he’s chosen to get some Van Gogh’s (poster prints because we can’t afford the real ones on college loans).

I think we’re most proud of our dining nook. Because we’re using the traditional dining room of the apartment for my movie room, we turned the splendid bay window area into our dining room. It’s a bit of a hike from the kitchen (especially when you’re carrying hot plates), but you can’t beat the openness and airiness of the area. We try to keep fresh flowers on deck at all times because the flowers here are gorgeous (and a steal at only $3.99).

That’s our crib at a glance— a work in progress to be sure. But it’s ours and we love it. Stay tuned for pictures of the soon-to-be-completed movie room!

It goes without saying that our home is your home whenever you find yourself in Chicago.